Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,384 (which is incorporated herein by reference), describes a new and useful dome kit and method, to provide a dome structure that is designed to be efficient to assemble, structurally sound, and produce an aesthetically pleasing appearance when forming a part of a building structure. The present invention utilizes the concepts of U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,384, which is incorporated by reference herein, to provide a dome kit and method, with some additional new and useful features that can be utilized, particularly when the dome structure is formed primarily of metal (preferably steel) components.
For example, the concepts of the present invention enables a dome structure to be formed in the manner provided by U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,384, and also provides a new and useful way of coupling ribs to the compression ring at the top of the dome structure. Moreover, the invention also provides a new and useful way of coupling the ribs to the lower ring. Such coupling structure is particularly useful when the ribs are made of metal (e.g. steel).
These and other features of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.